POLITICAL EMBLEMS Wine Collection

The elephant and the donkey, symbols of the United States' Republican and Democratic parties respectively, were popularized by political cartoonist Thomas Nast in the 19th century. The donkey was first associated with the Democratic Party during Andrew Jackson's 1828 presidential campaign, when his opponents called him a "jackass" and he embraced the symbol. Nast later used it in his cartoons. The elephant appeared in a Nast cartoon in 1874, representing the Republican vote. Both symbols have endured and become iconic representations of the two major political parties in the U.S.